Cayman Islands
CubaGeorge Town makes sense if
- You want the easier housing and budget equation in this comparison.
- A calmer day-to-day safety profile matters most to you.
- Access to stronger healthcare matters most to you.
George Town vs Havana
George Town is a small Caribbean capital with English-speaking daily life and a narrow but well-paid local market, though work permits can complicate a move. Havana has a warmer, brighter street presence and a stronger cultural identity, but its thin employment base and very low local pay make local income difficult to rely on.
The grey shape is all 283 cities; each row says whether lower or higher is better. Ratings out of 10 are our reviewed estimates; the rest is published data. How we measure
The choice in one minute
Havana makes sense if
- You want the deeper culture and food scene.
What matters to you
Set how much each area counts. The ranking updates as you go. Climate and values are left out because there is no better or worse there, only your taste.
Money
Nature & outdoors
City life
Safety & health
Work & family
Moving & settling in
- 1George Town59
Leads on city life, safety & health, work & family and moving & settling in; stands out for getting by in english and jobs in english.
- 2Havana47
Closest to the top on money, 1 point behind George Town; stands out for doctors and local culture.
Scores out of 100, averaged from the areas you weighted. For a ranking built around your own situation, take the quiz.
Side by side
Money
Rent on a new lease, everyday prices and tax.
Section score out of 100
George Town64Havana63
One-bedroom rent
Per month, new lease, citywide
$135/mo$2,444/mo
- $1,537/mo
- $419/mo, leads
Rent as share of local pay
One-bedroom rent vs. typical net local pay
21%120%
- ~26%, leads
- >100%
Everyday prices
Excluding rent · United States = 100
25131
- 135
- 53, leads
Income tax + social contributions
Range: average-wage rate to top marginal rate; the dot marks its midpoint
0%46%
- 5–5%, leads
- 5–50%
Climate
The year month by month. Whether it suits you is yours to judge.
Solid line: average daytime high. Dashed: night-time low. Point at the chart for any month; point at a city name to shade its range.
Bright days
Under 80% cloud and under 1 mm rain
30 days347 days
- 187 days
- 218 days, leads
Muggy days
Days that feel sticky (dew point)
0 days365 days
- 363 days
- 344 days, leads
Air pollution
Annual mean fine particles (PM2.5)
4.6 µg/m³84 µg/m³
- 10 µg/m³
- 10.3 µg/m³
Nature & outdoors
How easily you get to water, mountains and green space.
Section score out of 100
George Town42Havana40
Beach & sea
110
- 10/10, leads
- 7/10
Mountains
110
- 1/10
- 2/10, leads
City parks
110
- 6/10, leads
- 5/10
Weekend escapes
110
- 8/10, leads
- 7/10
City life
Getting around on foot, food, culture and the feel of the streets.
Section score out of 100
George Town60Havana50
Walkability
110
- 5/10
- 7/10, leads
Public transport
110
- 1/10
- 3/10, leads
Restaurants
110
- 7/10, leads
- 5/10
Public spaces
110
- 6/10
- 8/10, leads
Safety & health
Crime, how safe people feel, and the care you would get.
Section score out of 100
George Town72Havana60
Homicide rate
Per 100,000 residents per year
0.247
- 4.4
- 4.5
Feels safe day to day
110
- 9/10, leads
- 7/10
Healthcare quality
110
- 7/10
- 7/10
English-speaking care
110
- 10/10, leads
- 3/10
Work & family
Jobs, working culture, schools and raising kids.
Section score out of 100
George Town56Havana37
Job market
110
- 6/10, leads
- 2/10
Jobs in English
110
- 10/10, leads
- 2/10
Work–life balance
110
- 5/10
- 5/10
Schools
110
- 7/10, leads
- 5/10
Moving & settling in
Visas, language, paperwork and staying connected.
Section score out of 100
George Town59Havana32
Visa & residence difficulty
Typical case; your passport changes this
110
- 7/10, leads
- 8/10
Language barrier
For an English speaker
110
- 1/10, leads
- 8/10
Openness to newcomers
110
- 7/10
- 8/10, leads
Flight connections
110
- 5/10, leads
- 4/10
Society & values
Where each city sits. There is no right end of these scales.
Social attitudes
ConservativeLiberal
- 4/10
- 6/10
LGBTQ+ acceptance
LowHigh
- 6/10
- 8/10
Diversity
HomogeneousDiverse
- 10/10
- 4/10
Religion in public life
ReligiousSecular
- 3/10
- 8/10
Life in each city
Daily life
George Town
Tiny and low-slung, more a strung-out coastal town than a city. Walkability is poor and a car is close to essential, with daily life spread across resorts, plazas and residential pockets rather than a dense centre.
Havana
A mid-size capital built for walking, with daily life happening on foot and at street level rather than from behind a windshield. The pace is unhurried to a fault, slower than almost any comparable Latin American capital.
Safety
George Town
Violent crime is rare, walking at night feels comfortable, and the political backdrop is stable under British overseas-territory governance. Roads are calmer and safer than the mainland norm too.
Havana
Violent crime is genuinely low by regional standards, and serious incidents are rare in a way that sets Havana apart from many Latin American capitals. Streets feel calm after dark and traffic is light.
Work and healthcare
George Town
George Town offers a narrow but unusually well-paid local market. Solid for a place this size, with reputable private hospitals and emergency care, and English spoken throughout the system.
Havana
Career prospects are exceptionally thin. Cuba is famous for the sheer number of doctors it trains, and access to a physician is about as easy as anywhere on earth.
Culture and public life
George Town
The food scene is respectable, with good restaurants serving an affluent, international crowd, and the expat community is large and easy to plug into. George Town, in the Cayman Islands, is affluent and immaculately maintained, spotless in the way money buys.
Havana
Where Havana is unbeatable is its own culture. Havana is crumbling, its grand buildings decaying for want of upkeep funds.
Summary
George Town fits someone with the right work authorisation and a job lined up, especially if an English-speaking setting and stronger local pay matter. Havana is more compelling for cultural immersion, but practical plans should not depend on finding local work.
Read on
Which of these fits you?
These numbers treat everyone the same. The quiz weighs them by your budget, climate taste, family and work, and ranks all 283 cities for you.